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Let's Face it. Your Home Care Corporate Blog is BORING. (28 Ways to Make it Better and LOCAL)

Writing about elder care issues is far from exciting. There’s a VERY fine line between what’s ok to publish, and what’s NOT ok…..being funny is tough, being interesting is tough. When it comes to talking about sensitive issues, it’s hard BE interesting! Plus in this market, we have rules and regulations…..

The bottom line is that content is king in the online world. Without a regular addition of fresh content, you are going to lose visibility online to your competition.

So how do you ensure that people are actually going to read your blog? Follow this advice for more leads, sales and online visibility!

How many posts do you need to publish each week? – 3-4 is ideal. Once a week is THE MINIMUM. The more often you add an article, the more traffic you will get. Be consistent!! Make this activity part of your marketing plan, part of your life, part of your existence.

Who should be responsible for adding content/blogs? – The person marketing your home care agency is the person responsible for adding new blog posts. That might be you, or someone you have hired in a marketing capacity. Hold them/yourself accountable!!!

Who should be the face of your home care agency on your website/blog? The agency’s owners and or marketers should be the “authors” of each post. You can decide on one person, or rotate through a couple of people. Just remember, consistency and accountability are key. (Don’t use ADMIN as the author)

What if the home care agency owner or employees suck at blogging? If you know you weren’t born to be a writer, and that you will NEVER write blog posts, hire someone (or some people) who will. (Hint: That ‘s what we do here at LTC Expert Publications….)

How much does an editor cost? – A good editor will cost you around $80,000, but you can find one for a part-time position through Craigslist for only a few thousand dollars a month. Say what?

Can I use ghost writers? Yes, you can use ghost writers (ie LTC Expert Publications) if you want, but always add your own content too. Company news (the latest senior fair, or caregiver of the month) is what people REALLY want to read!

What if we don’t have time to write articles? Not many owners or marketers do, that’s why outsourcing is an option.

If I hire a good writer, how much will each blog post cost me?  You will end up paying $30 to $50 for a 1,000-word blog post that is not on a technical topic. Technical topics will cost you $100 to $200 a blog post.

How long should my blog posts be? – Posts written for a consumer-facing blog should be between 300 to 700 words. For a business-to-business (B2B) blog, posts should be between 1,000 to 5,000 words.

What’s the easiest way to promote our agency blog posts? The easiest way is to set up a feed share to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Plus etc. Boosting posts on Facebook and getting more likes on Facebook is an excellent way to connect with your community.

Is it okay to write about our home care services? Yes, but if more than 10% of your blog posts are about your home care services it gets boring. Mix it up for better engagement.

What type of content should we create? Articles are the easiest, videos are great too. Every piece of content should solve a problem for the adult child of the aging parent. Think in terms of what your audience might appreciate!

What’s the best way to promote your product or service? At the end of a post, or when it makes sense to soft sell your services.

Is it okay to link out to other sites? Yes, as long as they aren’t competitive. For instance, linking to a quote on WebMD.com is a great way to reference a reputable source.

Should we talk about competitors on our blog? NEVER.

What happens if someone leaves a comment on our blog? Don’t allow commenting. Let folks comment on Facebook instead. This is sound advice for the home care industry. Especially on a local website with a local blog. Most comments will be spam anyway.

What happens if a negative comment is left on the blog? Don’t allow commenting.

Are there any specific tips we should follow when creating headlines? Headlines should be engaging! Fun! Interesting! 65 characters.

Do you have any tips for writing a blog post? Introductory paragraph, no more than 4 – 6 sentences per paragraph. Middle paragraphs. Closing paragraph.

When should we publish our posts? Posts can be published at any time. The day your e-newsletter goes out is more important. Mornings are better in the home care market. Mon-Fr are better days.

Should we republish our content? NEVER. Always use unique content on your blog and never repost it on other sites.

What keywords should I place within my blog post? Use very few keyword phrases in your content. Write for the reader more than for Google. One use of your keyword phrase per post is sufficient. More one or 2 mentions will be considered “keyword stuffing”.

How can I hook my readers? Ask a question at the beginning or end of your content, be authentic, and encourage readers to comment of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc.

Should our home care agency blog be on a separate domain name? No, not if you can avoid it.  Ideally, the URL of your blog should be yourdomain.com/blog.

Are there any legal issues we should be concerned about when blogging? Do not copy other people’s content. Make sure your images are purchased, not just something you Googled.

Where can we find images for our blog? Buy images at BigStockPhoto.com (there are many other sites that sell photos, we find this site to be cheaper than most)

I’m a home care franchise owner, should I just use the articles my corporate office sends me, or write my own, or hire someone to do it for me? Never use corporate content. It’s considered duplicate content because 300 other franchise owners just posted exactly the same article. Always write your own LOCAL content, or hire someone to do it for you.

I’m a home care franchise owner, should I use the corporate e-newsletter, or create my own? CREATE YOUR OWN localized e-newsletter. Are you kidding? The corporate e-newsletters are B.O.R.I.N.G.

Don’t let anything stop you from adding fresh unique content to your website. It will help grow your company and become the number one traffic source and lead generation channel for your home care business.

So, what are you waiting for? Why don’t you have a local home care blog? Need help? Talk to us. 888-404-1513.

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